Reply With Quoteblah blah blah......
Still can't accept it, can you?
| Search Fishin.com |
Senior Member
A Muslim scholar chosen to speak at President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural prayer service Wednesday is the leader of a group that federal prosecutors say has ties to terrorists.
Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, is one of many religious leaders scheduled to speak at the prayer service at Washington's National Cathedral.
Mattson has been the guest of honor at State Department dinners and has met with senior Pentagon officials during the Bush administration. She also spoke at a prayer service at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Mattson, who was elected president of the society in 2006, is a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn.
But in 2007 and as recently as last July, federal prosecutors in Dallas filed court documents linking the Plainfield, Ind.-based Islamic society to the group Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.
Neither Mattson nor her organization have been charged. But prosecutors wrote in July that they had "a wide array of testimonial and documentary evidence expressly linking" the group to Hamas and other radical groups.
Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for Obama's inaugural committee, would not discuss the case or say whether the committee knew about it.
"She has a stellar reputation in the faith community," Douglass said Saturday night.
The existence of the court documents was first reported by Politico.
The Islamic Society of North America, which describes itself as "the nation's largest mainstream Muslim community-based organization," is fighting its inclusion on a list of coconspirators in the Dallas terrorism case against the Holy Land Foundation. In court documents, Mattson's group says it does not condone terrorism.
The court documents represent a complicated picture of the group.
Law enforcement agencies have used the organization's annual convention as part of its outreach to the Muslim community. The group has provided religious training to the FBI, according to court documents. Karen Hughes, a former Bush confidant and under secretary of state, called Mattson "a wonderful leader and role model for many, many people."
All this was going on while officials in the law enforcement and intelligence community apparently had evidence that the Islamic Society of North America had ties to terrorists and to the Holy Land Foundation. That foundation and five of its former leaders were convicted at a retrial in November of funneling millions of dollars to Hamas.
Mark Pelavin, director of inter-religious affairs for the Union for Reform Judaism � another organization participating in the prayer service � called Mattson "a really important voice denouncing terrorism."
"Clearly, Dr. Mattson has been welcome throughout the government," he said. "I haven't found anyone anywhere who's found anything Dr. Mattson has said that's anything other than clearly denouncing terrorism in quite explicit Islamic terms."
Pelavin's group has a partnership with the Islamic Society to encourage members of mosques and synagogues to build ties nationwide.
Attorneys for Mattson's group wrote in court documents that it is not a subject or target of the Holy Land investigation. The group has worked with the Bush administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, according to court documents.
According to e-mails filed in the court case, one of the prosecutors seemed willing to ask the judge to remove the group from the list.
"I am sorry for the problems for your clients," Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks wrote in July 2007. "I hope to get something to you or file something with the court as soon as possible."
The Islamic Society helps certify Muslim chaplains for federal prisons. Mattson leads a program at the Hartford Seminary that trains Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military.
Mattson was one of about three dozen leaders, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and two former Republican congressmen, Vin Weber and Steve Bartlett, who developed a report released last fall on how the U.S. can fight extremism in the Muslim world.
Senior Member
blah blah blah......
Still can't accept it, can you?
Last edited by Col Forbin; 01-18-2009 at 09:29 PM.
Senior Member
Nope.Originally Posted by Col Forbin
Senior Member
Blah blah blah I am at peace with Obama's win. That is until he makes a run on gun rights or ammunition. Just from looking at his voting record as an Ill. State Senator and a US Senator it is just a matter of time. Now all you dems keep saying this won't happen but what about his pick for AG Eric Cantor. The dude is on the record saying the second amendment does not protect the American Citizen from owning guns. Ohh yeah lets not forget about all these green taxes he wants to lay on us too. I'm sure we will get some sort of little bone on our income tax but with all this green crap they (i'm including the liberal congress too) are getting ready to push down our throat if you thought 4 dollar gas was high just wait. There is already talk from Obama's team of laying a tax on fossil fuels. Ahhh Change we can beleive in. I'm assuming in about 3 years it will be amazging the number of folks who didn't vote for him. All I hear is how bad PRESIDENT G.W. Bush was. As far as I'm concerned except the bail out considering all he has had to deal with I say he has been a great leader and a great President. I hope I can say the same for Obama (all but him having to deal with the stuff Bush has) but his past record sure makes me think that the Freedoms we have now will be long gone in just a couple years. Like I say I hope I'm wrong and only time will tell. I'll go as far as saying I hope he is the best President we have ever had. But that's all I can HOPE for.
bP
Senior Member
Perfect example of the free pass Mr. Obama gets by the media and seemingly most everyone else. No matter what he says, who he puts in his cabinet, and irregardless of his record (what little of it there is on the issues) any criticism of the sainted one is just more blah blah blah.
Liberals are happy as pigs in slop, their heroes control 2 of the 3 branches of government. A few years of government expansion and tax and spend will change the country's tune. It has in the past, and it will again. No matter how nicely the media dresses it up, socialism will fail. It's called reality, accept it. Only question is whether or not the country can produce another Ronald Reagan to bail us out of the liberal quagmire we are very likely to get in.
Yeah yeah,I know...blah blah blah.
Posting Permissions